Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial

by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator

Memorials can be created large or small, simple or fancy, and for a variety of reasons.  You might have just walked past the Robert Louis Stevenson memorial in the gallery at the MGMoA. Robert Louis Stevenson is most known for his books, Treasure Island and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Augustus Saint-Gaudens captured his friend in bronze in 1887. Depicting him reclining in bed, reading, and smoking a cigarette.  Stevenson was often ill, so depicting him reclining in bed was very natural. Doctors believed him to be suffering from tuberculosis at the time, but now believe he suffered from bronchiectasis or sarcoidosis.

Also included on this circular bronze plaque is a poem that Stevenson wrote. The poem was from his book Underwoods, which he dedicated to the doctors who had helped him. 

Saint-Gaudens met Stevenson through a mutual friend, Will Low, an American artist and art critic, in 1887. In fact, the poem that is included on this memorial was titled “To Will H. Low.” Stevenson sat for Saint-Gaudens only a couple of times before moving to the South Pacific, but they wrote often to each other. Saint-Gaudens greatly admired Stevenson and had once said he would "gladly go a thousand miles for the sake of a sitting" with him.

Robert Louis Stevenson Memorial by Augustus Saint Gaudens

This memorial became so popular, especially after Stevenson passed away in 1894 that Saint-Gaudens created a few variations, including one where Stevenson is holding a quill instead of a cigarette. This version was for St. Giles Cathedral in 1904 and was the only memorial of Stevenson in his native country.

Augustus Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin but raised in New York City. He is known for his memorials, monuments, and coins. At the age of 13, he became an apprentice to a cameo cutter in New York City. He would carve an object, often a gem with a raised relief image with contrasting color background. In 1876, Saint-Gaudens received his first major commission, which was a monument to Civil War Admiral David Farragut in New York's Madison Square. 

He designed the $20 Double Eagle gold piece for the US Mint, considered one of the most beautiful American coins ever issued, and the $10 "Indian Head" gold eagle at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt. 

For this and other coin-related art visit https://www.mgmoa.org/art-projects/

Coin Rubbing Art

Supplies: paper, colored pencils, coins

Collect several different kinds of coins. 

To create a rubbing of a coin, place the paper over the coin and rub your colored pencil over to create an image of the coin. 

You can use the coin rubbings to create leaves on a tree or petals on a flower or just be creative!